Endanger Experience
by BlueShoals
Summary: Set after Majora's Mask, Link is now a seasoned master among warriors. When he finds himself separated with Epona, and stranded in yet another strange world, he meets two other heroes. The three of them find a place in this new land, for a while...
1. Prologue

BlueShoals Author Notes:

I'm not new to writing, but this is my first actual submission, as far as fanfiction.

This story takes place after Majora's Mask. He'sonly about 15 Years old. Link is portrayed as being much more powerful than he would be in the game. I choose this because of the obvious potential for action/adventure that it has. In this fic, he's equipped with a lot of extra equipment that doesn't exist in the games. He's also a lot more magically adept, and a lot more physically powerful. You'll see what I mean.

This is going to be a mature fic, violence, language, and all that... I'm hoping to make tasteful, however, for the sake of the story. The violence and language is there for the story, not just because I want that stuff in there. Also, there will be room for romance, if the story needs to go there.

Obviously, The Legend of Zelda belongs to Nintendo.

There are many people, places, and things that are my creation, so this fic is mine.

Lastly:

_Italics are used when a character, usually Link, is thinking. _

* * *

Prologue

After being trapped in Termina for months after the Skullkid's attack, Link had finally found a way out, which required taking apart the most complex inner workings of the giant machinery underneath Clock Town.

Tackling this gargantuan task took almost a year. During this time, he did little beside training and researching, increasing his experience in magic and skills. He had a strong connection with the people around him, but he knew he'd have to leave them sooner or later, and isolated himself, until he had constructed a suitable exit, without disturbing the rhythm of the clock above.

Sealing the entrance behind him, he trekked the mysterious woods he'd once traversed to get here. It didn't take long before the smooth ground of the woods shifted suddenly to mountainous terrain, and the trees gradually blended into the species of tree Link liked better, the type you found in the mountains. Epona had no trouble keeping her pace up. She was now as swift as a mountain goat on the steepest of slopes. Link had to train her deep within the mountains of Termina to get her in top shape.

Link kept a close eye out for an outcropping in the mountains to camp out on. His eyes were beginning to lose focus from a whole day of navigating up and down steep rocky slopes. They slid back and forth, a lazy scan here, a drooping glance there, anywhere would do… He was beginning to give up, and just plop down and camp right where they were.

He gasped, eyelids flying open, and jumped off his horse before he even knew what he gasped and jumped at. Even Epona caught up to him before his mind did. A cave, large and dark and dank, was such a comfort to him, he sighed so heavily he almost oozed into the ground.

Further inspection revealed that the cave ran deep into the ground, and Link, shrugging off his fatigue, set off to explore, as he always did. He left Epona behind, as he always did, and when he was presented with a crossroads, he took the left one first to keep his exploration systematic, as he always did. Countless crossroads, and countless left-turns later, he found himself at a classic, dungeon-style, vertically-sliding door.

_A door? In a cave?_

A smirk tugged at his mouth, as he laid his hands firmly on the door, gave it a push, and watched as the door swiftly rose and let him pass with a dusty _SHUNK_.

He looked back, worried about leaving behind Epona, but dismissed the idea and passed through the door.

As he heard the door fall solidly back into place, he caught only a glimpse of a small room, and a slight glint of an object in the center of it. After the door fell, however, the room was pitch black.

He stood still, reaching in his tunic for something to light the room, but was pushed off his feet by a strong gust of wind. He stretched out his hands to keep himself from impacting the wall he knew he'd hit in such a small room, but could feel nothing. He just kept flying forward through the wind and through the darkness.

After a few seconds, he felt his feet scrape across a slippery stone surface, summoned his Iron Boots, and scraped to a stop as the gusts subsided. The last gust brought with it a stench that, by normal standards, would have been truly unbearable, but Link had no trouble with it. The winds stopped after that.

_Light… Light…_

Link made a few arcane gestures with his right hand, while slowly unsheathing his sword with his left. A small flame burst into life in his hand, crackling violently with the volatile gases in the air.

The gases of a sewer, he realized. Link saw the stream of sewage to his left, and was glad he stayed as still as he did. He tensed his arm, lowering it steadily, causing the magical flame to grow larger, bright enough to illuminate more of his surroundings.

The tunnel curved out of sight at both ends, and there were no other entrances or exits.

_Wait… What? No exi- _

Link spun to reach for the door that was supposed to be behind him, and instead found a small inlet, containing what seemed to be a small section of a giant clockwork machine.

No door. Just cogs and wheels, bolts and nuts.

Link flicked the ball of fire into the air above him, and took off down the tunnel in a sprint. The ball of fire fell into place behind him, trailing him, and providing light for his path. This was one of the many tricks Link had learned with his magic. He used another, just as he saw a path, and some light, across the wide river of sewage.

He leapt toward the other side, pulling out his hookshot, and summoning his Hover Boots. As he slid just above the surface of the putrid liquid, his hookshot plunged deep into the stone, and he flew around the corner at breakneck speed, releasing the hookshot as he headed down the next corridor. Just as he was beginning to slow down, he thrust his hand forward, palm open, and let out a shout as the surface of the sewage iced over. As he continued toward the light, he used a combination of ice and wind spells, as well as the spring-loaded power of the hookshot to propel him at an insane speed.

This wasn't for fun, as anyone who looked at his face could see. He was in absolute focus. He needed to find out where he was, and more importantly, he needed to get Epona back.

His thoughts flashed with blinding guilt and despair at the thought of losing Epona again. Before he knew it, he lost that focus, slid to a halt, walked off of the ice, and lowered down onto the cold, wet stone floor. His chest tightened, and his eyes watered, and he cursed himself for having delved into that cave. He could have been with Epona, his only friend, feeding her carrots, talking, just having a nice time.

_Damnit…_

He reached into one of his tunic's pockets, pulling out a carrot. He sighed, and slowly stood up. As he slid the carrot back into his pocket, he heard a rasping _**SHINK** _sound. He tilted his head, and a bewildered look popped onto his face.

_Eh? Carrots don't make that sound when-_

"You there! Don't move! You're under arrest for entering a forbidden area!"

Link turned toward the man, ignoring his request to keep still. He was a classic town guard. Link slowly began to raise his hands.

"Nonono… Don't raise your hands, keep absolutely still. I know what you magic-users can do. Just walk toward me slowly," the guard then added sarcastically, "before the ice melts."

_Forbidden area? That sucks. I need to explore this place to find a way out… Gunna have to talk to whoever's in charge… hope he's a nice guy._

Link stepped onto the ice, gave himself a nudge, and slid ever-so-slowly to the other side, so as not to alarm this obviously edgy guard.

They walked down the corridor, straight to what Link could see was an exit ladder. He finally spoke quietly to the guard, "Hmm… Sorry. I didn't know."

The guard chuckled, "You seem like a nice guy, but that story won't fly. You'll just have to spend your time. It's nothing big. If you had tried to run away, **then** you'd be in trouble."

Link was glad he didn't get any trouble from this guard. Normally, guards freak out around him, and he ends up putting their lights out.

Link was in a daze, and didn't notice the guard slapping manacles on him, until it was too late.

"Eh? What?" Link looked at the guard with a mixture of helplessness, and annoyance.

"Ha, I said you seemed like a nice guy, but I'm not gunna let my guard down because of that. I have to get you to the station. Period."

_Damn… I can't go there… I need to get straight to work on finding Epona… Hmm… Think… _

The guard cleared his throat, "Okay… Here we go… Up the ladder."

He attached another set of cuffs to Link, with one end attached to his own arm, and ordered him up the ladder.

"No funny business."

_We'll see about that_, he thought as he climbed, _that'll depend on how crowded it is out there_.

Link poked his head out to see that he was in the middle of the guard station. Surrounded by grinning guards, and seeing the grinning prisoners, in their cells, he sighed and smiled a helpless smile at the irony of it all.

_Oh well… _

The guards stamped him with ink on his palms, uncuffed him, and shoved him into an empty cell. Link, sensing that the bars were solid, that the place was carefully guarded, and that the ink on his palms inhibited his magic somewhat, simply slumped into the bed provided in his cell, and slept all night long.

* * *

_Okay, that ends the prologue. My hope with this fic is to really be able to describe the action in a nice fluid way. _

_In the next chapter, Link visits one of his recurring dreams of the past. _

_If you like the way I write, or have some pointers for me, gimme a review! I'd be happy to hear from you!_


	2. Chapter 1

BlueShoals Author Notes:

Okay, here's the next chapter.

After being captured by the prison in this new world, Link falls asleep in his cell for the night.

Ever since leaving Hyrule, he's had dreams about his past, from the times growing up in Kokiri Forest, and continuing on from there, in seemingly sequential order.

In this chapter, his dreams start up again, a few years after being sent back in time by Zelda.

Note that this chapter is a dream. Duh.

Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 1

Link dreamt, his restless sleep offering him little in the way of recovery. Recovery he was in dire need of after over two days of exploration, and a few adrenaline-soaked hours down in the sewers of a world he still knew nothing of.

As he tossed and turned, he felt his bed vanish beneath him, and plummeted into darkness.

He snapped awake, bolting upright beneath silken sheets, and found himself on a bed soft and comfortable enough for royalty. The bed of a member of the Royal Family of Hyrule. He wearily glanced to the window on one side of his large room, and the slightest trace of a frown brushed his face, seeing the blurred and smoky moon through overly extravagant drapery. He tried to move his feet over to the side of the bed, and his frown deepened as he remembered how massive the bed was. He had to crawl to the edge, and hop off, wincing at the icy marble floor on his bare feet.

He looked at the slippers under the nightstand, scoffed, and felt a frown tugging at him again.

He hated this place.

On a whim, he decided to leave this place for good. He took a warm bath, the last one, he knew, for a long time. As he sat in the tub, he contemplated how he would escape, where he would go, and what he should take with him.

Lastly, who should he say goodbye to? He'd become distant with Zelda, and in reality, they had very little interest in each other. They'd both realized that more often than not, they annoyed one another with their largely contrasting personalities. Besides, Zelda was busy with classic obligations, and Link was either wandering, or being put to work against threats to the land of Hyrule.

The same could be said for everyone he'd met. Malon found him to be too much like royalty, said he'd become pampered, and stuck up. Saria was too mature for his tastes, and didn't seem to want to adventure like him.

Of all of them, he missed Ruto the most. They had grown to be best friends, and she had such a desire for exploration that Link found himself struggling to keep up with her. In more ways than one.

He finished his bath, and decided.

_What should I take? Everything. How should I escape? Out the front Gate. Who should I say goodbye to? _

Link paused, his heart fluttered… _Ruto._

He reached into his nightstand, extracting a key to which he had the only copy, and plodded over to his closet, a rather large walk-in that he had actually found a use for.

Inside was every piece of equipment he had collected from the time he'd started off as a child, to the artifacts he wasn't supposed to recover until the future. Clearing the closet of its treasure, he suited up in his tunic, strapped his shield and sword on, and, filling his hidden pouches with equipment, headed out the door.

He winced, remembering how the massive door squealed like a demon every time he opened it. Sure enough, it made the most unholy noises, and Link heard the rasping sounds of the royal guard's armor.

_Shit… _

Link ran out into the dark hallway, getting his hookshot ready, and pausing behind a pillar. Of all his equipment, he trusted his hookshot almost as much as his sword and shield, and had become an expert at using it in almost any situation.

He shut his eyes, drew a quiet, deep breath, and held it for a few moments. He could hear the guard's deliberate stomping as he headed down the hallway.

_He wants to make sure I know he's there…_ _Good job… _

"Link…" the guard said. It was someone he recognized. Link almost gasped. It was Patrick, the captain of the guard.

The boy waited no longer, and, hurling himself through the air, across the hallway, planted himself firmly onto the wall. The momentum he had gained kept him pressed against it, as he saw Patrick, armed with nothing but a staff.

Within moments, he had summoned his Hover Boots, and was skimming along the wall gracefully, heading toward the exit as fast as he could. Just as he was about to reach it, however, Patrick's staff flew into his legs, tangling them up, and sending falling, long and hard, face first into the floor.

Link twisted around, his boots allowing him to slide backward slowly. He had a beastly look in his eyes, and seeing that Patrick hadn't moved from his spot, and was now behind him, he smirked. He continued through the door, to the castle courtyard, where a gate separated the castle from the town. He decided he'd go through the front gate, and that was what he was going to do.

His hubris was shot down in a mere moment, he felt a breeze, and if he had turned around fast enough, he would have seen Patrick there right next to him, arm pulled back, prepared to strike.

Link didn't have the time, and the massive backhanded blow smashed against the side of Link's face, sending him flying head over heels in the grass of the courtyard.

Link lay there, panting heavily, hearing only the pulse of his heart in his ears. The familiar suggestion of blood touched his lips. The swelling in his cheek that had flared up was already receding, and the scrapes on his knees and elbows were already sealing. After the ringing and pulsing subsided, he could hear Patrick talking, and sat up slowly, his body throbbing in pain, to look up at the man.

"… Everyone knows you want to get out of here… I can see it in your eyes… You're like a caged beast. But running away isn't going to solve anything. Go before the King. Ask that he give you permission to leave."

Link coughed, before half-moaning a sentence that took a lot of pain to speak, "He… doesn't want me to leave… I protect him…"

Patrick sighed heavily, shaking his head.

"He won't let me leave. Because he knows I won't just…" Link rose to his feet, "… I won't just leave the castle."

Patrick looked up at him, surprised.

"I want to leave Hyrule as well." Link let his lust for adventure fill his eyes, smiling like a hungry animal.

"Link, you can't—"

Before he could finish, Link was practically under his nose, dealing a spinning kick into his stomach that sent him flying several feet backward. Following up, Link leapt above the man even as he was sprawled across the floor, aimed his bow, cocked with an arrow of frigid ice magic, and released. As the man froze into a chunk of ice, Link's hookshot was embedded within the block in the blink of an eye. Using the strength of his gauntlets, he hurled the ice, and the man within it, into the locked gates of the courtyard, smashing them to pieces. Fortunately, the frozen soldier was okay, and Link beat a hasty retreat, before Patrick could thaw.

As he ran away from the castle, winding through the alleys of the town, spinning out of the way of the guards attacks, and knocking them unconscious with flurries of kicks and punches, he left the guards with increasingly more and more serious wounds. He feared that if he could not get away from this place, he might kill someone.

When he had finally escaped to the woods, he collapsed against a tree. Catching his breath, he gazed up into the moonlit branches.

_Maroon-fire Pine… My favorite tree… _

He heard a swirling sound that filled his head with chaos, and filled his head with freedom at the same time. He placed his palm against his head, wincing, hoping to calm the noise. It didn't work.

The noise was a cross between the flowing winds, the rushing waters, and the twisting thunder. This noise seemed to subside, but instead... it twisted into a speaking voice.

It was the voice of chaos, riot, and anarchy. The voice of life, freedom, and adaptability. The voice of the heroism, valor, and the underdog. The voice of a woman.

**_Oh, you have good taste, my son, _**the voice giggled, **_It's one of my favorites as well…_**

Link bolted to his feet, twisting wildly, to find the source of the voice. He grunted uneasily, but did not feel threatened.

_Who… are you?_

**_Think of me as… a friend. Yes. I'm naught but a friend to you. You don't have to listen to me, but… _**

_Listen to you?_

**_Well, yes… You don't have to… I'm your friend, however… I'm just looking out for you._**

_Sure… _

_**I'm not too happy about what you did back there… those are my friends too…**_

Link felt a great pang of guilt that buckled his knees.

"Wh… what is this?" Link gasped. He realized it wasn't just guilt, it was pain. Pain flooding every part of his body. He felt as if he'd been kicked in the stomach hundreds of times.

The woman laughed, and the laugh seemed to tear Link's mind apart, and toss it about like confetti that settled back to where it was supposed to be.

**_I'll bet you feel like you've been kicked in the stomach a few hundred times. That's how those men feel. Those guards. Those… FRIENDS of mine. _**

At once, the images of hundreds of guards nursing their wounds, coughing up blood, holding their heads in pain, all of them flashed through Link's eyes.

Link's lungs struggled for air as he fell forward into the grass, clutching his stomach. Everything was going dark and the pain kept piling on like great, falling, steel bricks. Each brick that fell pushed him deeper and deeper into darkness.

Until all was still, and black.

* * *

_Thanks for reading, and thanks for reviewing. _

_Hope you enjoyed a look into my version of Link's past. _

_In the next chapter, Link awakens, and gets down to business. This is where you'll see more of the kind of person I imagine Link to be. _

_The strong, silent, and a little bit mean type._


	3. Chapter 2

_BlueShoals Author Notes: _

I'm hoping to show a bit more about Link's personality, and why he has grown into this kind of personality in my story. As far as story development, yes, within the story, he has a reason for being more than a little mean-spirited and sadistic. Outside the story, however, the reason I wanted to give him this feeling, is because that's how I play action/adventure. Sadism.

In this chapter, Link awakens from his dream-turned-nightmare, and tries to get out of his cell peacefully, and reasonably. It becomes increasingly difficult to control his temper as the Captain of the Guard for this city gives him an impromptu interrogation, and then, a job.

_(To answer some questions, the story takes place after Majora's Mask, with dreams revealing his past. As such, he has kept most every skill from Ocarina of Time, and Majora's Mask. You can be sure I'll make use of them, to great effect. After all, it's an action fic.) _

_

* * *

_

Chapter 2

Of all the things he'd seen in his days as the Captain of the guard, he'd never seen a prisoner go from being prone on his bed, to jumping high enough to knock himself out when he hit the ceiling.

_What a dumbass,_the guard thought, and chuckled quietly.

The last remnants of Link'snightmare stayed with him as he writhed in pain on the floor in what he recognized as his cell.

After a while, he simply lay there on his back, staring at the ceiling blankly. As he contemplated the memories of his past, he slowly worked himself to the present.

He'd just been waken up one morning, so many years ago, and went on a quest to save people he barely knew. All of his motivation was coming from within him. A desire to run, fight, and kill those who wronged others. To destroy and laugh at his victims. Not just because he was worried about the innocent, but because he was just plain mean sometimes.

He knew that it probably wouldn't be recorded in history that he was grinning wickedly during his final fight with the beastly Ganon. It probably wouldn't be told that he had tortured the beast during his fight.

People would probably be told that he ended it swiftly and mercifully… Something like a sword to the brain.

_Eh… _Link thought, _I suppose people don't like their heroes to have any emotions… Especially sadism… _

After that ordeal, he was plummeted back into a world that had no idea how much he had sacrificed to save their lives. After all, it hadn't happened yet.

The only people who had any idea were the members of the Royal Family, and the Sages. They hoisted him up onto a pedestal, and if he ever took one step off of it, everyone would make such a fuss.

Link sifted through his life's story in his mind. Until he reached the present.

Only then did he get up, and walk to the bars of his cell.

"H-…" he said quietly.

The guard looked up from the book he was reading. Link recognized him as the same guard who had brought him in from the sewers, "Hmm?"

"Hey, I'm…" Link struggled for words, "I'm new here."

The guard chuckled for a long minute. Link shut his eyes, massaged his temples, and counted to a very high number.

Of all the types of guards there were, he hated the chuckling guards the worst. They were the ones who asked too many useless questions, and at the same time, never took him seriously.

_Why… Why the 'chucklers,' why me?_

Link interrupted the guard's laughter after he finished counting, "When can I get out?"

_… and if you start laughing again, I'll beat you silly, you-_

The guard said simply and sarcastically, "Oh, you don't want to stick around for breakfast?"

He was about to chuckle again when Link interrupted him, "Listen, I'm new here, I need to get out."

"Okay, well, I was checking you out," the guard said, suddenly serious and professional, "and even though you seem like a good guy, you are quite a…"

Link blinked, "Hrm?"

"You're an intimidating kid," the guard admitted, "and you scare the hell out of me. That's why we stamped you. You're physically fit, better than most of the guard, and you know magic as well. That's what the stamp was for."

Link sighed, _Damn… they're not going to trust me…_

After a long silence, the guard stood up. Link was surprised, as the man's soft, jovial voice betrayed his impressive stature. He was a monster of a man, solidly built, and standing well over six feet tall. He walked from behind his desk, and introduced himself, "I'm the captain of the guard."

"Oh," Link said, uninterested.

"What are you?" he said, trying to strike up a conversation, and sat down on his desk, facing Link's cell.

Link then realized that all the other prisoners had been released, which was why the man was conversing with only him.

He clarified, "I mean… what do you do for a living?"

"I'm an adventurer." Link said simply.

The captain chuckled, and Link counted to a higher number.

The massive man spoke with the slightest mocking tone, "What, like a mercenary?"

"No," Link was getting irritated, "Listen I—"

"Yeah, yeah. I know, you 'gotta get out of here,' I heard ya, but it's my job to get to know every prisoner who arrives here."

The boy cocked an eyebrow in his direction, "Huh? Why?" He'd never heard of a guard who talked to his prisoners regularly.

The captain chuckled again, "Well, I want to make sure that the next time I see them in here, they get the proper disciplinary measures."

Link understood, "I'm just…"

He lowered his gaze to the ground, and spoke quietly, "I like to wander. I've been through three different… countries."

"Pretty impressive for a kid," the guard intoned quietly.

The young hero nodded back, and continued, "I found myself here. I came from some mountains, found a cave. It lead me here."

The guard nodded, smirked, and said what Link was waiting to hear, "Okay, you're free to go."

Link beamed, but the guard continued speaking, "I'm putting a notice on you, however. Our guards and the guards of the other cities will be watching you carefully. Don't get in trouble again," and with that, he unlocked Link's cell.

Link watched as he walked over to a locker where they had put Link's sword and shield, and rummage through it.

After about a half-minute of rummaging, Link began to get worried. The guard turned around, wincing.

"Uh… I can't find your sword, or your shield. One of the guards must have taken it. Probably sold it," he said, still wincing.

Link was dumbfounded. He was beginning to think that he might just murder the man where he stood. It showed, and the captain tried to put out the fire that was this boy quivering with fury.

"Woah, woah… I'm sorry, here," the captain ran to his desk, partially to put something between him and Link, and partially to scribble a note, "take this to Nick. Do you know who Nick is?"

Link shot him a look of monumentally restrained rage. He was just coming to terms with the fact that a very rare mirror shield and gilded sword from Termina was stolen from him, and sold into a world he had no knowledge of. No knowledge, and yet, this man asked him if he knew who 'Nick' was.

"Oh," the captain said, twitching slightly, "That's right. You don't…"

Link snatched away the note the guard held out to him, and the guard spoke apologetically, "Well, Nick is the blacksmith in this town. He makes the weapons for the guard, and does special jobs for people with the money for it. Tell him I sent you, and he should give you a discount."

Link sighed. He didn't care too much about visiting the blacksmith right now. "Where's… the pub?"

The captain edged over to a shelf by the door, and produced what Link presumed was a map of the town.

He handed it to Link, and explained, "There are dozens of pubs, a lot of which double as Inns. It's a big city. Do you have money?"

Link asked, "What's the currency?"

"Rupees," the captain winced again, worried about a burst of anger.

"Then I'm fine." Link was about to walk out the door.

"Are you sure?" the captain said, "Because, if you need any money, you can work for the guard, we have a few positions I think you'd be well suited for," and he smirked.

As if sensing that smirk, Link turned to half-face the captain, and asked, "Like what?"

"Well, we have freelance mercenaries that take out big criminals for cash," he explained, "There's also messenger duty, since it takes a while to get from city to city to relay messages."

Link pondered this. He liked the sound of both of those options.

"Of course, the one job that no one wants to take," the captain said, "is…"

Link looked up, curious.

"Guard conditioning," the captain smiled.

Link tilted his head, "Eh?"

"Sparring."

A silence passed as Link turned to fully face the captain of the guard.

"When can I start?"

"They're outside sparring with each other right now. Go on ahead, I'll pay you when you're done." He was glad to have the boys anger vented somewhere else.

Link clenched his fist, and ran as fast as he could out the door.

_That's what they get for taking the kid's stuff,_ the captain thought.

He sat back down at his desk, reclined in his seat, lifted his book, and started to listen for the cries of grown men.

* * *

Hopefully, I got the point across. Link does have buttons, and they can be pushed. What pushes his buttons most? Incompetence.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. You can rest assured that there will be some action next chapter, when Link gets down to business.

The business is kicking ass.

And business is good.

BlueShoals. Out.


End file.
